Bangladesh courts China even as ties with India improve

Bangladesh's new government has sought greater Chinese investments and partnership to revive a stuttering economy, even as it attempts to re-balance ties with neighbouring India.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman went to Malaysia and China in his first overseas official visit last month, signalling the direction of Dhaka's foreign policy.

Analysts say the choice of destinations reflects Dhaka's effort to recalibrate its strategic priorities. While Rahman first visited Malaysia, his trip to China is seen as the more significant.

India has historically been the traditional port of call for newly-elected South Asian leaders. Some in India have viewed Rahman's China visit as a message to Delhi which has maintained close ties with the ousted Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Hasina.

Among several bilateral agreements, Rahman's outreach to Beijing for help managing the Teesta River and a deal to develop a special economic zone near Mongla port have attracted particular attention.

These are closely watched in Delhi as the two Asian giants compete for influence in Bangladesh.

Relations between Dhaka and Delhi turned frosty after the overthrow of prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024 in a mass uprising. She fled the country and took refuge in Delhi.

Diplomatic ties remained strained after the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus took office, with India avoiding high-level visits.

After Rahman took over following a landslide victory for his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in February, both sides have taken initiatives to reset their ties.

"There is no doubt there has been a relative relaxation of tensions between the two countries," former Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran told the BBC.

"The cross-border economic activities are gradually returning to normal and India is also issuing tourist visas to Bangladeshis," he said.

Passenger bus services between India and Bangladesh have partially resumed after an 18-month gap. Services now operate between Kolkata and Dhaka, and between Dhaka and Agartala.

When the war in the Middle East broke out earlier this year and hit global fuel supplies, Delhi sent thousands of tonnes of emergency fuel via the cross-border Friendship Pipeline to Bangladesh.

Last month, India's new High Commissioner to Dhaka, Dinesh Trivedi, took charge. In a rare move, Delhi elevated him to cabinet rank, signalling its intent to reset bilateral ties.

Despite diplomatic tensions and the two countries imposing tit-for-tat restrictions on trade when the interim government was in power, bilateral trade last year stood at around £13bn, mostly in India's favour.

Nevertheless, the rapprochement between Dhaka and Delhi is not as expected and there are continuing irritants in the bilateral relationship.

A strong anti-India sentiment, mainly for supporting Hasina, and attempts by the Indian Border Security Force to push people , external , who they deem as illegal immigrants, into Bangladesh have triggered controversy and anger in Dhaka.

Bangladeshi officials say India has pushed in thousands of people, mainly Bengali-speaking Muslims, in recent years without following any due repatriation process.

Bangladeshi analysts further point out that the alleged inflammatory comments against Bangladesh during India's West Bengal state elections by Hindu-nationalist politicians are sending mixed signals to Dhaka.

"All these things got high visibility and created public dissatisfaction in Bangladesh which in a way reflected on Dhaka's thinking process," says Humayun Kabir, a former Bangladeshi diplomat.

"The Bangladeshi government didn't look at these issues or positive indications," he adds.

In May, the Hindu nationalist BJP ousted the regional Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, ending its nearly 16-year rule in the Bangladesh-bordering state. West Bengal and Bangladesh share linguistic, cultural and ethnic ties.

Any Chinese role in managing the Teesta River is a sensitive security issue for India.

The river is shared by India and Bangladesh, whose efforts to reach a water-sharing agreement have stalled for years. During Rahman's visit to Beijing, Bangladesh said the two sides agreed to conduct a joint technical feasibility study on managing the river.

Experts say the river needs dredging, desilting and measures to restore its flow for agriculture.

"Any Chinese involvement in any project close to our border will always be a matter of concern. So, we would certainly not welcome that at all," Saran says.

India and China have a decades-long border dispute. A brief war in 1962 ended in a humiliating defeat for India, and more recent border clashes have claimed lives on both sides.

Any Chinese role in the project would bring it closer to the strategically vital Siliguri Corridor, or "Chicken's Neck" - the 22km (14-mile) strip linking India's mainland to its seven north-eastern states.

Bangladeshi officials say previous governments also invited India to join the Teesta project, but Delhi took too long to decide. They argue China has the expertise and financial resources to deliver a project of this scale.

Beijing has stepped in to allay India's concerns.

"I would like to stress that China-Bangladesh cooperation does not target any third party and should be free from third party influence," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing during Rahman's recent visit.

China is already Bangladesh's biggest defence supplier, accounting for more than 70% of its arms imports. Dhaka also owes Beijing more than $6bn (£4.5bn).

During Rahman's visit, China also offered to develop the China-Myanmar-Bangladesh Economic Corridor - connecting China's Yunnan province to the two countries.

India has long viewed South Asia as its sphere of influence, but China has steadily expanded its footprint in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

India's efforts to rebuild ties with Bangladesh's new government are complicated by the continued presence in Delhi of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, whose extradition Dhaka has sought.

Hasina was convicted in absentia of crimes against humanity over a crackdown on student-led protests that left hundreds dead. She denied the charges and was sentenced to death by a special tribunal last year.

"As long as Hasina is in Delhi, it may be somewhat difficult politically for Rahman to come to India," says Saran.

But some experts say Rahman may still visit Delhi as India remains too important a neighbour - economically and strategically - for Dhaka to ignore.

India, too, knows that stable ties with Bangladesh are vital to security in its north-east, where several ethnic separatist groups operate.

For Rahman, balancing Dhaka's ties with the two regional powers is going to be a delicate diplomatic balancing act.

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